Thing # 19

Discovery Exercise:

Select any site/tool from the list of Web 2.0 Awards nominees

First I took a look at them all, then I took a look at the winners. I checked out the marketing section which only had a weak couple of honorable mentions (by weak, I meant they had nothing to do with actual marketing) and then the digital photography section. I wa already familiar with flickr and really sort of liked zoto, so I thought I'd play around with zoto.

Explore the site you selected.

I selected: zoto

Create a post about your discovery. What did you like or dislike about the tool? What were the site’s useful features? Could you see any applications for its use in a library setting?

I'm already a member of smugmug, but I like zoto because it is free. The thing I don't like about flickr is that it doesn't let you save your photo in its largest size and it doesn't currently allow you to sort your photos in the order you want to sort them in. Zoto seems to allow you to do both.

Zoto also says that family and friends can add their photos to your gallery. I theenk I like that, in theory anyway. At the same time, not sure if I like the idea of other people putting their pictures in with mine. Have to let that idea simmer a bit.

Soon after I discovered Flickr (Thanks Helene) I also discovered some reviews of photo sites using my trusty dependable and apparently old fashioned Google search engine. Here's what I came up with Zoto Review by Gator which is why I guess I didn't sign up for the free zoto, but instead chose the pay for it, smugmug.

Applications for a library setting? Perhaps something like a zoto could be a way that individual branches could keep up with photos that are taken in their branches for possible publicity/archiving. Each branch could have an account and within each account the pictures that they've taken. Then PR or others could access them and download the digital files into the "in-house" filing system. Something to think about.

I wonder what the criteria for winners are? They could be imbedded somewhere and I just lost them...but I wish they'd say why they picked the winners.